Civil War, Sanctions and a Falling Currency Produce Soaring Prices as People Shop for Ramadan

DAMASCUS, Syria—On a recent morning, a woman stood in front of a stall lining Bab Serijeh, the capital's biggest and most raucous food market, and expressed amazement at how prices of local tomato paste and olive oil have quadrupled and quintupled, respectively, over the past year.

In another part of the capital, Amal Zuhairi, a 44-year-old civil servant, came out empty-handed from the Oumawyeen state cooperative. A few weeks ago, she had bought corn oil there for 325 Syrian pounds ($1.63) per liter. Now, the cooperative has...